News
Ayano Mashiro releasing her first album [WHITE PLACE] on October 5th!
WHITE PLACE album cover (Type B)
Image courtesy of CD Japan
In the trend of excessive references to a specific color (c.f. Eir Aoi), singer Ayano Mashiro is releasing her first full-length album WHITE PLACE on October 5th. “Mashiro” means “completely white.”
The album will contain 15 tracks total, including her first four singles “ideal white”, “infinity beyond”, “vanilla sky” and “Lotus Pain” which were featured in various anime. In addition, the digital singles “Focus Light” and “Believe” will be included. Fans who have already picked up her mini album Early Days may find a lot of overlap here with 4 tracks on this album already previously released on that mini album.
Eir Aoi releasing 2 best albums on October 19th!
Best -A- (regular edition cover)
Courtesy of CD Japan
Pop/rock singer Eir Aoi (surname AOI) is releasing two best-of albums, titled BEST -E- and BEST -A-, on October 19th, in celebration of her 5th anniversary as a singer. Each album contains 13 tracks, 12 of which are compiled from her releases to date, and a new previously unreleased song.
Each album will be released in 3 editions: two limited editions music videos–one includes a Blu-ray disc and one comes with a DVD, and a regular CD-only edition. Members of Aoi’s fanclub have the additional option of buying the boxed set BEST -E/A- which comes with both CD albums and a third disc, a DVD containing clips from Aoi’s live show “D’AZUR-EST FINAL” in June 2016.
Legend of Zelda 30th anniversary special album will be released on September 28th!
Zelda music collection (cover)
Courtesy of CD Japan
Nintendo is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Legend of Zelda series with a set of music selected from all the games! Appropriately titled The 30th Anniversary Legend of Zelda Game Music Collection, the compilation will contain a total of 93 tracks on 2 CDs. Several songs from the original Legend of Zelda and Legend of Zelda II–the original 8-bit midis!–are included, although the majority of tracks are from later games in the series including Ocarina of Time, The Windwalker, and A Link Between Worlds.
Aimer new album [daydream] out on September 21st!
Daydream (album cover, regular edition)
Courtesy of CD Japan
Singer Aimer is releasing her new album daydream on September 21st! She has collaborated with many well known singers and musicians to record the songs featured on this album; collaborators include Mao Abe, Taka from ONE OK ROCK, Yojiro Noda from the RADWIMPS, and Sukima Switch. The album collects four recent A-sides “insane dream,” “ninelie”, “Chouchou musubi” and “us” and 9 original songs for a total of 13 tracks.
Universal Music “Golden Best” special low-price reissues!
Universal Music is re-releasing “best-of” compilation albums from the past 6 decades of contemporary Japanese music! These special priced re-issues will all be released on June 22nd for 951 yen.
I’m highlighting some of the pick-ups I’m looking forward to below (links open to CD Japan page).
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Ayumi Hamasaki new album [Made in Japan] out on June 29th
Singer, songwriter and actress Ayumi HAMASAKI is releasing her 17th original studio album Made in Japan on June 29th! The veteran J-pop artist, sometimes dubbed the “Empress of J-pop” in the early 2000s, seems to show no signs of slowing down her musical career. She has released on average one studio album every year since her debut in 1999.
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Aimer releasing new single [ninelie] this month!
ninelie covers (left: limited edition A; right: limited edition B)
Courtesy of CD Japan
Singer-songwriter Aimer is releasing her ninth single ninelie on May 11th! The title track is the ending theme to TV anime series Koutetsujou no Kabaneri (Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress) and features a vocal collaboration with singer chelly from EGOIST.
Aoyama Thelma triple releases [PINK TEARS], [SMOKE & TEARS], and [LOVE! ~SPECIAL~] out on April 27th!
Pop singer Aoyama Thelma is releasing three discs in one day! However, only 6 of the tracks released on April 27th will be original material.
PINK TEARS is Thelma’s new EP, containing 6 original tracks and featuring collaborations with other artists including LiLy and MAPPY. SMOKE & TEARS is a compilation album containing all the songs from PINK TEARS and GRAY SMOKE, Thelma’s previous EP which was released last fall, for a total of 12 tracks. LOVE! ~SPECIAL~ is a compilation of compilations–it will contain 15 tracks selected from Thelma’s previous compilations LOVE! and LOVE! 2, in ultimate high quality CD format.
Hirahara Ayaka releasing new album [Love] on April 27th!
Love (cover)
Courtesy of CD Japan
Singer Hirahara Ayaka is releasing her 9th original album, titled Love, on April 27th. Love will contain 10 tracks, many penned by notable veteran artists including: Nakajima Miyuki, Tamaki Kouji, Tokunaga Hideaki, and Okamoto Mayo. Ayaka writes the lyrics for two tracks and the music for one song.
Hakobune new album [apsidal] out on April 13th!
apsidal (cover)
Courtesy of CD Japan
Indie ambient/performance art project Hakobune, the one-man project by guitarist Takahiro Yorifuji, is releasing new album apsidal on April 13th, 2016. Hakobune is prolific, having released 50 albums since 2007. Takahiro uses his guitar to create layers of sound in what the artist terms “sonic landscapes.”
Album info: Catalogue# WPMC-32. Price: 2000 yen.
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